Separation Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
by Allychan-R
Summary: After ten long years, high school sweet hearts Eren and Levi are finally able to meet once again since Levi joined the military, at their high school reunion. Will an old bully and a few punches thrown be able to bring these two back together? (LevixEren ErenxLevi Riren Ereri) Raed M for strong language.


**A/N Hallo Loves!**

**This is a writing style which I have never tried before. Beware.**

**Anyways, yea, so I have dedications for this. Two people.**

**(I'm going to call you L.J., okay?) I was scrolling through my G+ feed (Don't you bloody dare judge me.) and L.J. shared a screenshot of a tumblr post. (Dedication! E-jpg DX I'M SO SORRY I COULDN'T FIND YOU TO TELL YOU I WROTE THIS!)**

**This story came from that... should I call it prompt? Whatever, just...**

**ENJOY!**

**Oh, hang on, I made Levi and Eren born in the same year, therefore making Eren be older than Levi because Eren's birthday is in March while Levi's is in December. I just needed to point that out so you don't get your pretty little head confused.**

* * *

Eren looked at the entrance to Trost Public High School in a bitter disdain.

Tonight was the night of his tenth year high school reunion.

He didn't want to go.

Eren didn't exactly have the best high school experience, being one of only four outed homosexual students in the school in which most of the students were homophobic assholes. Eren and his boyfriend at the time, Levi, were the ones who got the brunt of the abuse, because the other two, a lesbian couple consisted of Krista and Ymir.

Krista is the daughter off the dean of the school. You messed with her, you got suspended no got your ass kicked by Ymir. You messed with Ymir, you plainly get your ass kicked. However, you mess with Krista and Ymir found out... Well, no one ever found Tomas Wagner's body.

Therefore, since Levi and Eren weren't exactly capable of defending theirselves - they had the drive, but not the muscle - this resulted in much abuse during their years of high school.

Eren was deadly silent as he pulled open the glass door and went inside.

Really, the only reason he went to this reunion was because Mikasa, Levi's half-sister and her husband Armin"convinced" him to go by means of force. But because they were a year younger than Eren, they couldn't go with him.

He shuddered as he past his old locker, the one Levi would always meet him by with a good morning kiss. The one where he had to scrub off the heartbreaking word in his sophomore year, and repeatedly after that.

A soft smile found itself on his lips as he paused at a stairwell he would eat lunch at everyday. Happy memories flooded his chest as he remembered when Levi would dab his face clean when he got some kind of sauce on his cheek -more often than naught on purpose. He shook his head as he continued on.

Stop thinking about him, Jaeger. This is one of the reasons you didn't want to come, wasn't it?

Idiot. Did you really expect to come here and not think of him?

True, Levi was the only reason Eren was able to make it through high school without dropping out, or worse self harming;the raven haired man was one of the reasons why Eren hated thinking about high school, especially graduation.

The day of Eren's graduation was the day Levi broke the news to the young Jaeger that he was leaving to join the military. He had told him that he was enlisting with a small group of seniors. Levi had decided on this sometime before, but never knew how to break it to Eren. As if the thought of Levi enlisting didn't break his heart enough, Levi told him not to wait for him.

It was an order.

Eren was to by no means wait for the Raven to return.

Levi had decided to make it his career.

He said he couldn't put Eren through the stress of any overseas deployment he may go through, and the pain if he didn't make it back alive. He told him to move on.

And that was goodbye.

Thus, Eren Jaeger, stumbling backwards in despair, fell into a pit.

It was deep, dark and he wasn't able to get out alone.

That was a dark time in Eren's life.

Depression hit him, he could barely take care of himself. He believed that it was his fault Levi had to go through so much shit. He was the reason Levi joined the military.

Fuck, Levi probably hated Eren and was just waiting for a chance to take off and leave him.

Armin and Mikasa, who hadn't known Eren very well past basic info, found Eren's lifeless body in November of his twentieth year.

As the two were starting out on a road trip - one last one before the stresses of college - Amin spotted a body face down in the river from a bridge they were crossing. They instantly called 911. Eren's identity was later revealed to the young couple. After Eren was discharged from the hospital, Milasa sat Eren down and had a "talk" with him.

With the help of Armin and Mikasa, Eren slowly recovered. The happy glow in his eyes started to return. Soon enough, Eren was finally stable, got a job which he still held to that day. Life was slowly getting better.

He had a few boyfriends, two of which were long-ish term. None could compare to Levi, but they're pretty damn special in Eren's book.

Eren in front of the gymnasium doors, and took a deep breath.

Here...

We...

Go...

He pushed open the doors and entered.

Laughing slightly as he looked around, thinking about how it looked like their senior prom. Streamers everywhere in their school colors, hunter green and robin's egg blue, annoying strobe lights, stupid, blaring music and... judging by all the already staggering adults, spiked punch. The man swallowed thickly as he walked inwards. He wasn't going to lie, he was very, very nervous.

He saw the first familiar, friendly enough face and instantly migrated towards it.

The dark skinned, brunette women stood off to the side,marks crossed and a deep scowl on her features.

"Ymir?" he asked slowly, earning the attention of the woman.

"Holy shit, Eren, you came?" The he woman nodded in approval with a small smile on her lips. "I honestly didn't think you were going to come." A small twinkle in her eye shown as she patted his back roughly.

"Yeah, well I wasn't going to at first..."

Their catching up went on to Eren finding out that Ymir married Krista right out of college and they had recently adopted a child, whom was being babysat by Ymir's younger brother Marco that night.

Eventually, Eren moved on, getting up more and more courage to talk to various people. He had found Sasha and Connie Springer, the oddball couple everyone always loved by the punch bowl and snack bar, Franz and Hanna after they got off the dance floor, and many more.

Now, the man wasn't going to lie, seeing all these couple that stayed together throughout the years upset Eren a bit. But it wasn't like he was going to turn into some huge rage monster, or anything.

The party was in full swing.

People was drunk, offenses were taken, and Eren was quietly standing to the side, trying to avoid being seen by a certain Jean Kirschtein.

Kirschtein was the dick who made Eren's life a living hell most of his life.

Even had spotted Jean flirting with Annie Leonhardt. The blond's flirting skills improved greatly, he noted. Meaning, he wasn't a stuttering, blushing dork like he used to be. Apparently, Jean failed to notice the reason for Annie's ignorance and downright disgust at his attempts was because of a silver engagement ring hanging on a thin chain around her neck.

Idiot.

It was a half an hour later of solo dancing and dancing with someone's apparently bisexual guest that Eren started over to the punch bowl to satisfy the thirst in his throat. He panted lightly as he poured some of the drink into a small plastic cup.

"Didn't expect to see you here," a smooth voice mused while Eren was in mid-drink, causing him to sputter and choke on the liquid in surprise.

He coughed furiously as he turned to look at the person. The man laughed at Eren's surprised face.

"J-Jean?" Eren gasped, setting down his cup and clearing his throat at his weird sounding voice. "What are you doing over here?" he asked anxiously.

"Getting a drink was the plan," the taller man chuckled,stepping in and filling the little plastic cup with the orange liquid. "So how's life been, Jaeger?" Jean asked after taking a drink.

"Life is... life... What about yourself, Jean?" Eren asked, his voice shaking slightly because both out of slight fear of Jean and confusion as to why the blond was speaking to him so... Cordially?

Jean shrugged. "As you said, life is life."

The conversation went on to how Jean went to college after school and got a degree in architecture, and was now partnered with Colossal Construction. Just as Erenthough Jean was a decent man now, Jean wandered to a different topic.

"So, Jaeger," he hummed, running his fingers over the rim of his plastic glass, "I saw you dancing earlier, with that redhead guy... I guess you never grew out of that 'Fag Phase', did you?"

Eren's eyes widened. "What'd you say?" he asked breathlessly.

"I said 'Fag Phase', Eren, open your ears. Fag; meaning you're still a little prick who loves cock," the artificial blond droned.

A familiar rage filled Eren's chest. His face twisted into an ugly sneer. "Take it back," he growled. "You'd better take it fucking back, Horseface."

People started to glance their way when Eren's voice rose.

"Here's the fight I've been waiting for," Annie mused from not too far away.

"Why take back what is true, Gayger?" He asked with a shrugged.

Eren was taken aback by the old name he had tried to forget about for years. He was about to lash out at Jean, scream at him when the taller man was tapped on the shoulder.

No sooner had Jean turned around, than he was on the floor, a pain making itself known right under his left eye, across his cheek bone.

"What the fuck?!" He yelled, glaring up to his attacker.

"You want to say that shit again?!" A short raven haired man growled. "Get your shitty ass up and say it again!"

"Who the hell are you?" Jean demanded as he got up, a deep scowl on his face.

"Don't recognize me?" He scoffed. "My name is Levi Ackerman."

"You're that scrawny little Ackerman bitch?" His upper lip curled up into a sneer.

"L-L-Levi?" Eren stammered in nothing more than a quiet whimper. The man looke to Eren. His face softened, but still held his indifferent expression.

"Hello, brat," he greeted. "Been a while, eh?"

_Brat_? A painful throb in his chest hit.

How did he get demoted from _Love_... to _Brat_?

Ah, that's right. Eren wasn't Levi's love anymore... Was he?

_No_.

He hadn't been for some time.

"Forget about me, Ackerman?"Jean yelled s he rushed forward.

Eren could have sworn he heard Levi sigh before he turned to Jean.

He caught Jean's fist in his hand and hooked his left leg is the taller man's right one, so that he tripped and landed on his back, knocking his head against the hard floor, knocking him unconscious.

Levi looked to Eren. "It's good to see you," he smiled softly. Eren stared wide eyed - like everyone else - at the man standing over Jean, before he slowly stepped forward. He raised his hand to touch his fingertips to Levi's cheek. After a small minute, Eren retracted his hand and balled it into a fist a split second before he swung his arm and hit Levi's face.

Levi's head jerked, but he stayed standing.

"Fuck you, Levi," he spat.

He turned on his heel, and bolted out of the gym.

He had to get out of there.

It hurts.

It hurts too bad!

He closed his tearful eyes, allowing his memories to guide him.

Down the hall. Take a left. Take a right. At the end of the hall, turn to the left.

He opened his eyes as his feet came to a stop.

The stairwell. This stupid, stupid stairwell! He sniffled, wiping his eyes furiously as he sat down on the fourth step.

He pulled his knees up and buried his face into the fabric of the dress slacks that Armin had forced him into earlier.

He shouldn't have come here.

Honestly, what the hell was he expecting? Sun shine and rainbows? How unrealistic... His reality was not this.

This was no longer an option for his happy ending.

No. His happy ending...

It wasn't with Levi anymore.

He should go home... Sleep... Drink something and forget he ever even saw Levi or Jean.

He stood up and wiped his eyes. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes until his breathing regulated.

"So here you are."

And... There goes his heart rate.

His heart beat faster as he looked up to Levi.

He was dressed in black slacks and dress shoes. A white dress shirt and a cravat around his shirt collar. He was the only one that Eren deemed allowed to a wear a cravat. He also had a black suit jacket over his shoulder, hooked over the first and middle fingers of his left hand. The light in Levi's steely eyes had dulled quite a bit in the years since Eren had seen him. His eyes looked like that they had seen so many things in their lifetime. His hair... It was styled in a military undercut but the top part of his hair was much longer. All in all...

He looked sexy.

No.

No, Jaeger. Stop it.

You were leaving now, right?

"I was just going," Eren said, his voice weak and shaking. He pushed past Levi, but didn't get before the Raven called out to him.

"Eren," he growled, turning to go after the man.

"What do you want?" The brunette spat, not looking back.

Suddenly, Eren's arm which swung as he walked, was gripped by Levi and Eeren was spun around to face the short man.

"To talk," Levi answered.

"What the fuck do you want to talk about?" Eren exclaimed, jerking his wrist out of the Raven's grip.

"_How have you been, are you well_?" Levi hissed, over emphasizing every word.

"Cut the bullshit," Eren sneered. "Why would you care?"

Levi's eyes widened before they narrowed. "Why the fuck wouldn't I care, Eren?!"

"Because you most likely moved on, and got a new boyfriend and forgot all about me, like I've tried to do about you." Eren's bottom lip trembled, a trail of salt water went from his right eye to under his chin.

"Why would I want to forget about you, Eren?" Levi asked softly.

"Because _you_ told _me_ to move on," Eren whispered. "You told me to _move on, get a new boyfriend, forget_ about you." He looked up and looked the man straight in the eyes, angry tears swimming in his brilliant green eyes. "You told me not to wait."

"Why do you think I told you to do that?" The shorter pressed. "Do you really think I would let you wait for me to return when there was a chance I wouldn't return at all?"

"But you did return!" Eren screamed.

"But what if I didn't?!" Levi retorted. "What if I had died on duty, and all you had, after all the waiting you did for me was a fucking condolence letter saying I had died?!"

"It would have been better than not knowing anything!" Eren scowled at him. "Ten years, Levi. Ten fucking years, and I haven't heard a word from you. Which do you think would be better; not knowing what had happened to you, if you had a family, or if you had died in the line of duty... Or knowing you had died in the line of duty and _knowing_ that you had loved me to your last breath?"

"Brat, it isn't that fucking simple..." Levi pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"How is it not?! How could it be any more complicated? H-How, Levi?!" Eren yelled.

"What if I had left, and had you wait for me," Levi ventured. "What if, after years and years of you waiting for me to return, took somebody new? If I got home and you're happy, and satisfied with life, and there was no place for me any longer?"

"You thought... I would be unfaithful...?" Eren cocked his head as the words, barely louder than a whisper left his lips. "You risked everything... ended our relationship... because... you didn't trust me?" A smile formed on Eren's lips. One totally devoid of all warmth and affection, but full of anger and understanding. "I see now," he said with a light chuckle. "Have a nice life, Levi."

He turned and started to make his way back down the cold, dark hallways.

"Eren," Levi barked, his footsteps short and hard against the tiled floor. "Eren Jaeger!" he yelled once more after Eren ignored the raven haired man and even quickened his steps.

"That was goodbye," Eren spat harshly. "You're intended to fuck the hell off and disappear now."

"No. Brat, you need to listen to me!"

"I don't need to do anything with you," Eren's voice got weaker with each outburst until his voice cracked slightly on the last word.

"Damn it!" Levi shouted as he rushed forward and grabbed Eren's wrist. He twisted them around and shoved his back until he slammed into the cold metal of a locker. Eren cried out at the force. The Raven grabbed Eren's other wrist and pinned it to his side like its twin.

"Let me go, Levi," he hissed, jerking against Levi's grip.

"No," the shorter man sneered. "I'm never letting go of you again." He leaned up and pressed his lips to the older man's. Eren pressed his lips in a tight line, forbidding Levi any access as he shook his head furiously. "Eren," Levi growled as he pulled back from the precious lips he hadn't been able to touch in years. "I admit it was stupid of me to end our relationship the way I did."

"Fucking idiotic," Eren interrupted.

"Fine," he sighed in irritation. "It was _fucking idiotic_ of me to do it was not because I didn't trust you." He took a deep breath," Eren, I told you to forget and move on, remember? I wanted to give you time and space to move on from whatever shit I dragged you through in this hell hole."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know... because of dating me, years ago that you were put through so much during your early education. If I hadn't of confessed to you - "

"I would still be gay, and Horseface still would have beat the shit out of me every chance he got," the brunette interrupted once again. "You at least made high school livable."

"Even so, had I not confessed to you at that time, thinking you were a heterosexual, you would have never accepted, we never would have started to date, and you would have been able to live your life normally, out of harms way, even if for a year or two." Levi dropped his gaze down and leaned his forehead against Eren's chest. "Eren... I left so suddenly... because I didn't deserve you. Not after the shit I put you through. I thought, if I had you wait for me, you would realize that as well and leave me. Out of purely selfish reasons, I severed our bond, perhaps permanently. The only reason I came tonight was to tell you why I left... and that I never stopped loving you." Levi pulled back and looked into Eren's eyes, many emotions swimming in the steely grey pools.

"You dumbass," Eren breathed. "Let me go." Levi's eyes widened as he realized he was still gripping Eren's wrists and instantly let them free.

What happened next, even Eren couldn't have predicted. The brunette reached out and grabbed both sides of Levi's head, dragging his forward to come crashing into his own waiting lips.

"You fucking bastard," he said in between quick pecks on his lips. "You dumbass, you come and talk to me about this before you go off and do crazy shit like this. You _come and discuss_ matters before you join the fucking _military_!" Levi nodded wordlessly, still too shocked to speak. "And I love you too," Eren continued in a huff, "Always have. These years I've went through hell with and without you." Levi cringed.

"Eren, I'm really sor - "

"Now, in the years to come, let's go through some heaven, yeah?" he smiled, warmly this time with a slight cock of his head.

Levi chuckled. "That was too cheesy for your own good," he shook his head with a small smile. Eren rolled his eyes.

"Tell me, where the hell did _Levi_ go?" Eren asked.

"The fuck does that mean? I'm right here," Levi scoffed, putting a hand to his chest.

"You know, the scrawny 'lil Levi who could barely hold his own. Not a muscle on him, an incredible mop of shaggy hair?"

Levi shivered. "Let's say my physical appearance changed for the better in the past decade."

"I liked your hair," Eren told him. "It was cute."

"And unevenly cut, and _messy_," he spat out the last word as if it were poison.

"Yeah, maybe this haircut is better," Eren hummed as he reached a hand up and threaded his fingers through Levi's ink black hair. the shorter man hummed almost inaudibly and leaned into Eren's wandering hand. "But it feels funny," the brunette said suddenly. "While the old haircut was fun to run my fingers through because it felt like a never ending ball of soft kitten fur, or something. Now... Well, one part's soft and long while the other - the shorter part - is fuzzy, and I want to drag my nails through it."

Levi huffed, pulling away from Eren's hand. "Yeah, well, your hair has stayed the same. It's dull and boring."

Eren's eyebrows raised. "Oh really?" He scoffed, "I'll have you know, I actually shaved one side of my head two years ago," he informed the younger as he ran a hand through the right side of his hair. "It was a weird style I wanted to try. I liked it."

Levi hummed. A gently silence drifted between them.

"I love you," Eren blurted out again, stepping towards Levi.

The Raven bent his neck to look up at the man. "I love you too." The two slowly moved closer to each other until Levi's arms were around Eren's neck and the brunette's hand were on Levi'shlips as they were kissing again. Levi pulled back after a minute with a sly smirk. "I have a hotel, you know..."

* * *

**A/N Hallo again!**

**Idk, guys, should I do a lemon?**

**I am so damn tired... Seriously, my eyelids are begging for sleep.**

**I love this. A lot. Like, I have a deep attachment to this fic.**

**I am posting this oneshot on this account instead of main one for this reason:**

**My mother and grandmother, whom are both _major_ homophobes have the URL to my main account. They would kill me if they knew I was writing this.**

**I would like to make it clear that I have nothing against gay people. I'm bi curious.**

**I apologize for any typos or mistakes! I wrote two-thirds of this in a notebook, which I then copied into this site via my grandma's iPad. I bloody hate Mac products. And apparently, my grandma's iPad hates the word 'Eren'. It kept auto correcting to "Erin" or "Even" I think I got all of those mistakes out, but I'm sorry if I didn't. Anyway, after writing two thirds of this on a damn iPad, I wrote the rest when I'm half awake.**

**I also have no idea where the hell the hair part came from. It just... flowed.**

**Sorry for the long A/N!**

**ANYWAYS! Review, 'kay? 'Till next time, Loves-**

** Ally-chan Ravenwood :-***


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